Sheppard, Williams Rule Rainier Cross Crusade #2

Although the race location is actually pronounced “Ray-neer,” anything in Oregon with a name that can be read as a derivative of “rainy” is ominous, particularly on the heels of yesterday’s muddy slog through Heiser Farms. Last year’s Rainier race was a dry, fast edition with the course’s vertical gain the decisive feature – so anything was possible.

Sure enough, it was a wet start to the day, but the skies cleared, the course began to dry, and the sun even came out to warm things up for the afternoon starts. Wendy Williams was able to repeat last year’s win on this same course and, as Elite men’s race winner Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) said after his race, “This is what cyclocross is all about – mud and a suntan!”

The total attendance for the day was over 1,000 strong, but one notable absence was local favorite Sue Butler (Hudz-Subaru), who was busy battling for podium positions in the UCI3 races in Cincinnati, Ohio. The region’s other strongwomen were quick to pick up the slack and take to the front, with Alice Pennington (Team S&M) and former Masters national champion Wendy Williams (River City) the primary animators.

Pennington leapt out to an early lead up the course’s initial long, paved climb, but Williams would take over the front soon thereafter and never relinquished it over the one-hour race. Pennington held on for second, with Serena Bishop (Sunnyside Sports) rounding out the podium.

With Butler missing this Crusade and planning on hitting some World Cups in November, Williams and Pennington look to be the odds-on favorites to once again battle for the overall Cross Crusade series.

Shannon Skerritt (Corsa Concepts) stormed off the line to grab the holeshot but, as he later reported, he didn’t have the punch to match the ensuing acceleration from Sheppard and Cyclocross Magazinecolumnist Adam McGrath (Feedback-Van Dessel). “I didn’t warm up enough – I got the holeshot, made it to the dirt first at the top of the course, chose a crappy line, and a whole train of guys went by,” said Skerritt. “I kept it close until the first really muddy climb, and Sheppard and McGrath obviously had warmed up properly and went flying past.”

Sheppard and McGrath then drilled the muddy terrain through the woods of the course’s back section to shed the rest of the field and make it a two-man race. Although horsepower undoubtedly was a factor, it was handling skills that gave the duo their buffer. “For the first two laps, we hit every line on all the climbs and descents, we were hitting everything so that gave us a pretty good gap,” said Sheppard. “The course really became thick – it went from Adam’s [local Northwest natural] peanut butter to Skippy, the stuff with hydrogenated oil. It was good, and you were able to berm out some of the corners, you could start sliding. Maybe that’s the gift of Dugast – this is my first time on Rhinos, and they’re an amazing tire. That’s not even a sponsor plug, I paid full retail for them.”

The two riders would stay locked together until the final lap, where Sheppard would get a 10-second advantage that he’d hold and slightly extend on his way to the line. “Technical courses like this are good for me,” said McGrath, “I can’t just throw down 8,000 watts on flat stretches.”

Skerritt rode his own pace in no-man’s land to claim third, a minute ahead of Molly Cameron (Portland Bicycle Studio). Michael Gallagher (Cyclocrossracing.com), the winner of the Heiser Farms race on Saturday, felt that previous effort in his legs and started slowly, picking riders off every lap, to eventually claim fifth.

Sheppard’s broken thumb didn’t seem to slow him down on the challenging course as he was able to back up last week’s Alpenrose Crusade win. “I just have to hold my hoods, and I’ll have a custom cast next week. Crashing is not an option right now. Whatever happens, I’m gonna crash on the right side of my body.”

Look for Sheppard, a Canadian who calls Bend home, to continue targeting Cross Crusade events, with a break in early November for Canadian Nationals, where he hopes to give Geoff Kabush a run for the money. “The Cross Crusades are the life and blood – the pulse of cross – on the whole West Coast. It’s great to come out here; it’s a little bit of a circus, you’ve got kids, dogs running around – it’s hard not to come over here and enjoy an hour of pain. For Rocky Mountain Bicycles, the team establishes a presence. Shimano’s a big team supporter too, and they’re also supporting the series.”

Next week the Cross Crusade series moves to the notoriously bumpy Sherwood Equestrian Park. The day prior, microbrewery Ninkasi throws its name behind the Ninkrossi event.

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